Abortion

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to give effect to United Nation Resolution 2122 in relation to access to safe abortions for women raped in conflict.

Baroness Warsi: The UK welcomes the UN Security Council’s focus on improving access to sexual and reproductive health. In light of the recent resolution 2122, we have reviewed the UK policy position on safe and unsafe abortion and clarified within it our view of abortion and international humanitarian law principles: where abortion is permitted, UK aid can be used for activities to improve the quality, safety and accessibility of abortion services. In conflict situations where denial of abortion would threaten the woman’s or girl’s life, international humanitarian law principles may justify offering an abortion rather than perpetuating what amounts to inhuman or degrading treatment. Clearly this will depend on the woman’s choice, her condition and the safety and security of the humanitarian staff, as well as other contextual factors.

Agroforestry

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have assessed the benefits of agricultural systems, generally known as agroforestry, which integrate trees, crops and livestock on the same area of land.

Lord De Mauley: In 2012 Natural England commissioned the Organic Research Centre and Abacus Organic Associates to consider the potential benefits of AgroForestry and any need for support under the RDPE. Their report: CanAgroforestry Deliver Production and Environmental Benefits in the Next Rural Development Programme?, is due to be published soon.

Agroforestry

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the reformed Common Agricultural Policy offers the opportunity to support agroforestry under Pillars 1 and 2; and, if so, under which Pillar they intend to support it.

Lord De Mauley: There is no explicit support for agroforestry practices under pillar 1 direct payments. However, land that is managed under agroforestry may be eligible for direct payments under pillar 1, provided it meets the land eligibility requirements.
	The Rural Development Regulation which governs the next programme provides for an agroforestry measure. Defra does not propose to take up this option in England. However, land that is managed as part of an agroforestry system may be eligible for support through the new environmental land management scheme.

Agroforestry

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the analysis of agroforestry by the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development as a “win–win” multifunctional land-use approach that balances the production of commodities with non-commodity outputs such as environmental protection, biodiversity opportunities, cultural and landscape amenities.

Lord De Mauley: In 2012 Natural England commissioned the Organic Research Centre and Abacus Organic Associates to consider the potential benefits of AgroForestry and any need for support under the RDPE. Their report: Can Agroforestry Deliver Production and Environmental Benefits in the next Rural Development Programme?, is due to be published soon.
	The research included a literature review that considered the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development report along with other sources of evidence.

Agroforestry

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there is any difference of approach in policies supporting agroforestry in the four nations of the United Kingdom; and, if so, what.

Lord De Mauley: The Government does not intend to apply the agroforestry measure as part of the next Rural Development Programme.
	An agroforestry scheme was available in the 2007-13 Rural Development Programme, in Northern Ireland. However there was very little uptake. Northern Ireland is considering offering support for agroforestry as an option within the Agri-Environment Climate measure under its 2014-20 Rural Development Programme.
	Currently there is no grant available to support agroforestry systems in Scotland. However, the intention is to introduce new grants to support agroforestry and tree health in the next Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP), which is currently out for consultation (http://www.scotland.gov.uk/publications/2013/12/7550).
	The Welsh Government have been working with forest industry and farming stakeholders to enable greater integration between farm and woodland management to the benefit of both. The Welsh Government is currently looking at ways to implement this approach within the measures provided by the new Rural Development Regulation.

Alcohol

Lord Patel of Bradford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the rates of referral to specialist alcohol treatment services broken down by source of referral and by gender.

Earl Howe: The following table shows the number of adults by source of referral and by gender in alcohol treatment in England in 2012-13.
	
		
			 Referral source Male Female Total 
			 A&E (Accident & Emergency) 681 385 1066 
			 Arrest referral/ Drug Intervention Programme 1090 287 1377 
			 Counselling, Assessment, Referral, Advice and Throughcare/ Prison 224 42 266 
			 Community Alcohol Team 2051 1081 3132 
			 Community care assessment 99 74 173 
			 Connexions 14 12 26 
			 Drug Rehabilitation Requirement 37 8 45 
			 Hospital 2673 1336 4009 
			 Substance misuse service non-statutory 2361 1305 3666 
			 Substance misuse service statutory 1702 901 2603 
			 Education Service 13 31 230 
			 Employment service 167 63 13541 
			 General Practitioner 8639 4902 12 
			 Looked After Children 3 9 7960 
			 Other 5402 2558 4193 
			 Probation 3516 677 1426 
			 Psychiatry 816 610 30127 
			 Self 19121 11006 1407 
			 Social services 548 859  
			 Total 49157 26146 75303 
			 Inconsistent/Missing record 309 161 470 
			 Total inc Inconsistent/Missing 49466 26307 75773 
		
	
	Source:
	The National Drug Treatment Monitoring System.

Alcohol

Lord Patel of Bradford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the rates of (1) drop-out, and (2) success, for specialist alcohol treatment broken down by gender.

Earl Howe: The following table shows the number of drop outs and treatment completions for adults in alcohol treatment in England in 2012-13 broken down by gender.
	
		
			 Treatment exit reason Male Female Total 
			 Treatment Completed – Occasional user – the client no longer requires structured alcohol treatment interventions; there is evidence of alcohol use but this is not judged to be problematic or to require treatment 10,966 6,045 17,011 
		
	
	
		
			 Treatment Completed - Free of Dependency (no alcohol use) – the client no longer requires structured alcohol treatment interventions and is judged by the clinician to no longer be using alcohol 15,030 8,867 23,897 
			 Dropped Out/Left 12,231 6,332 18,563 
		
	
	Source:
	The National Drug Treatment Monitoring System.

Alcohol

Lord Patel of Bradford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Public Health England will routinely publish alcohol treatment services statistics broken down by gender.

Earl Howe: The National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) collects data from alcohol treatment services across England and it enables local areas and Public Health England to monitor performance. National alcohol statistics are published annually by Public Health England. The 2012-13 annual report was published on 16 October and contains a breakdown of the gender and ages of the numbers of people in alcohol treatment. A copy has been placed in the Library.
	The report is also available at the following link:
	www.nta.nhs.uk/uploads/alcoholstatisticalreport12-13.pdf

Britons Living and Working Abroad

Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many United Kingdom residents are currently registered with the relevant British Embassy or High Commission as living in each of the other member states of the European Union.

Baroness Warsi: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office no longer uses a consular registration system so there are no UK residents currently registered with British Embassies in the EU.

Burma

Baroness Goudie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the outcomes were of their discussions with Aung San Suu Kyi regarding rape and sexual violence by the Burmese army.

Baroness Warsi: During Aung San Suu Kyi’s visit to the UK in October 2013, the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) and the Secretary of State for Foreign
	and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), discussed our engagement with the Burmese military, the ethnic peace process and ongoing human rights concerns including the use of sexual violence in conflict areas. Aung San Suu Kyi has encouraged our engagement and shares our views on the importance of reforming the military to enable long-term reform in Burma. We are using our defence discussions to encourage the military to step back from politics, tackle issues such as the use of child soldiers, and bring an end to the use of sexual violence in conflict areas. Our Embassy in Rangoon will continue to discuss these issues on a regular basis with Aung San Suu Kyi.

Burma

Baroness Goudie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what information they have received on Parliamentary Speaker Shwe Mann's alleged involvement in human rights abuses in Burma.

Baroness Warsi: We have not directly received information regarding human rights abuses that involve Parliamentary Speaker Shwe Mann. However, we are aware of open source reporting that points to allegations of human rights abuses during his military career.

Central African Republic

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the promised deployment of the African Union troops in the Central African Republic is likely to take place.

Baroness Warsi: African Union (AU) troops were deployed to the Central African Republic (CAR) on 19 December 2013, when ownership of the African-led International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA), mandated by UN Security Council Resolution 2127, was transferred from the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) to the AU. There are currently around 4,000 MISCA troops on the ground in CAR, and with regional troops continuing to arrive in CAR this number will rise further.

Central African Republic

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the proposal made by the European Union High Representative that the European Union should rapidly deploy a military force to the Central African Republic to protect local people and also to protect humanitarian efforts.

Baroness Warsi: We support EU efforts to assess what more it could do across its range of instruments to support peace in the Central African Republic, and therefore welcomed the December European Council call for the examination of options for a further EU
	contribution. We remain open to considering the option of an EU operation, in coordination with the African Union. Any decision to proceed would need to be agreed by all EU Member States.

Central African Republic

Baroness Berridge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the African Union and French intervention Operation Sangaris in the Central African Republic; and what is the deal toll of both civilians and military personnel.

Baroness Warsi: The UK welcomes the swift deployment of African-led International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA) and French troops, which were mandated under UN Resolution 2127 of 5 December. Their immediate focus is on stopping the appalling and deteriorating conditions in the Central African Republic to protect civilians and to ensure humanitarian access. They are beginning to have an impact on the ground; and we should give them time to become fully operational.
	Access to many parts of the country remains limited; which makes accurate or reliable figures on numbers of civilians who have died across the country very difficult to obtain. However, the UN estimates that 1000 people were killed in Bangui in December alone. Two French soldiers were killed in early December.

Central African Republic

Baroness Berridge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the suggestion that a United Nations peacekeeping force be established in the Central African Republic; and whether they plan to support such a proposal if put to the United Nations Security Council.

Baroness Warsi: The UN Security Council mandated the African Union’s African-led International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA) force alongside a French deployment in December 2013; supporting this is our immediate focus. However, the situation (including the conditions for a UN peacekeeping operation) will remain under regular review in the Security Council.

Children: Custody

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that children in England and Wales are not detained overnight in police custody.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many children in England and Wales who are detained overnight in police custody require transfer to the care of their local authority in accordance with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 in the latest year for which figures are available.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The data requested are not held centrally.
	In 2012, we strengthened the code of practice on the post charge transfer of children to local authority accommodation, as required by section 38(6) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.
	The code of practice makes it clear that, regardless of the time of day, children aged under 17 should only be detained in police custody under exceptional circumstances. These circumstances include where it is impractical to transfer them or, in the case of a child aged over 12, where secure accommodation is required but is not available and other local authority accommodation would be inadequate to protect the public from serious harm.

Climate Change

Lord Donoughue: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 25 May 2013 (WA 44–5) which stated a linear trend model with first-order autoregressive noise in representing the evolution of global annual average surface temperature anomalies, and in the light of the Working Group I Contribution to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report which states that statistical analyses of climatic time series “have to assume some kind of model, or restricted class of models”, what models they rely upon for statistical analyses of global temperature series; and why they chose those models.

Baroness Verma: Her Majesty’s Government does not rely upon any specific statistical model for the statistical analysis of global temperature time series.
	Global temperatures, along with many other aspects of the climate system, are analysed using physically-based mathematical models, rather than purely statistical models.

Debt

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have produced or plan to produce a market-based cost of guaranteeing that part of national debt that could be transferred to Scotland on independence.

Lord Deighton: The UK Government has committed not to pre-negotiate the terms of Scottish independence ahead of the referendum. It therefore has not produced a costing related to the national debt arrangement in the event of Scottish independence. However, independent
	estimates have highlighted that an independent Scotland could expect to pay a significant premium on its borrowing relative to the UK. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research has estimated that an independent Scotland could expect to pay a premium above UK borrowing costs of up to 1.7 percentage points.

Debt

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether HM Treasury assumed full responsibility for the total of United Kingdom debt stock when part of the island of Ireland left the United Kingdom; and whether they have examined the implications of that process in the light of the possible future of Scotland.

Lord Deighton: In the event of Scottish independence from the United Kingdom, the continuing UK Government would in all circumstances honour the contractual terms of the debt issued by the UK. This is the responsible thing for a highly-creditworthy sovereign such as the UK to do. All parts of the UK benefit from membership of the UK, which include its low borrowing costs. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research has estimated that an independent Scotland could expect to pay a premium above UK borrowing costs of up to 1.7 percentage points.
	The Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed on 6 December 1921, confirmed that The Irish Free State would assume liability for a “fair and equitable” proportion of UK debt. In the event of Scottish independence Scotland would become responsible for a fair and proportionate share of the UK's current liabilities.

Department of Energy and Climate Change: Annual Report

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, with reference to the Department of Energy and Climate Change Annual Report and Accounts for 2012–13, pages 263–6, why the North West region spends on services more than half of the total for England, and in particular (1) £119 million on economic affairs compared with £393 million for all of England, and (2) £1,044 million on environmental protection compared with £1,644 million for all of England.

Baroness Verma: The annual County and Regional Analysis (CRA) exercise is the basis of the geographical expenditure shown in the tables on pages 263-6 of the 2012-13 Annual Report and Accounts. The majority of expenditure is attributed to the North West region of England because the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is based in this region and accounts for around two- thirds of the Department’s expenditure covered by the CRA.

Electoral Registration

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much funding was or is allocated for the one-off costs of introducing individual electoral registration in (1) 2012, (2) 2013, (3) 2014, (4) 2015, and (5) 2016.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The Government is committed to fully funding the cost of the transition to individual electoral registration. In the 2010 Spending Review, £108 million was allocated to cover cost of introducing individual electoral registration. For financial year 2015/16, £148 million has been set aside for the costs of individual electoral registration, the General Election and the 2015/16 Boundary Commission; specific budgets for each of these areas are yet to be allocated.

Energy: Electricity

Lord Hunt of Chesterton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are their plans for United Kingdom carbon power; and what are the expected relative costs for annual delivered electrical power for onshore wind, offshore wind, nuclear, solar photovoltaic and biomass power.

Baroness Verma: Far-reaching reform of the UK electricity market is needed to meet our renewables and carbon targets while maintaining security of supply and minimising consumer bills. Through the Energy Act 2013, the Government is taking forward a programme of Electricity Market Reform which will provide efficient long term support for all forms of low carbon generation — including nuclear, renewables and Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS).
	DECC has published levelised costs estimates of various generation technologies on the DECC website since 2010. The levelised cost of a particular generation technology is the ratio of the total costs (including construction and operating costs) of a generic plant to the total amount of electricity expected to be generated over the plant’s lifetime (per megawatt hour). They do not include revenues or support payments. These are available on the following website:
	https ://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ energy-generation-cost-projections
	DECC's most recently published figures for current and future levelised costs are available in the following report Electricity Generation Costs (December 2013):
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/fi1e/269888/131217_Electricity_Generation_costs_report_December_ 2013_Final.pdf
	Table 1 below uses figures taken from this report, and shows a range of levelised cost estimates for projects starting pre-development in 2013 and 2019 for selected technologies, using a 10% discount rate. Please see the report for more information.
	
		
			 Table 1: Levelised cost estimates for selected electricity generation technologies, 10% discount rate, sensitivities around high/low capital costs and fuel prices 
			  Projects Starting pre-development in 2013, £/MWh Projects Starting pre-development in 2019, £/MWh 
			 Onshore Wind >5 MW UK 80-125 79-123 
			 Offshore R2 Wind 107-139 101-132 
			 Offshore R3 Wind 113-150 104-141 
			 Nuclear 78-107 70-94 
			 Large Scale Solar PV 146-170 115-132 
			 Biomass Conversion 94-129 n/a 
			 Dedicated Biomass >50MW 106-164 105-162 
		
	
	Levelised cost estimates for different types of electricity generation are highly sensitive to the assumptions used for capital costs, fuel and EU ETS allowance prices, operating costs, load factor, discount rate and other drivers and this means that there is significant uncertainty around these estimates.

Energy: Electricity

Lord Jenkin of Roding: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest estimate is of the likely impact on the wholesale price of electricity of losing the capacity represented by Eggborough Power Station’s Unit 2 which is planned to close in September.

Baroness Verma: DECC modelling is based upon a variety of assumptions which were recently updated and presented in a range of scenarios and sensitivities as part of the December Electricity Market Reform Delivery Plan1. The analysis did not individually isolate the impact of Eggborough on the wholesale price.
	1
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electricity- market-reform-delivery-plan

Energy: Electricity

Lord Jenkin of Roding: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest estimate of the likely impact on the wholesale price of electricity should the entire capacity represented by Eggborough Power Station be lost.

Baroness Verma: DECC modelling is based upon a variety of assumptions which were recently updated and presented in a range of scenarios and sensitivities as part of the December Electricity Market Reform Delivery Plan1. The analysis did not individually isolate the impact of Eggborough on the wholesale price.
	1
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electricity- market-reform-delivery-plan

Energy: Power Stations

Lord Ezra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many power stations have been mothballed; and how long it would take to bring any of them back into operation.

Baroness Verma: We are aware of two power stations (Keadby and King’s Lynn) which have declared that they are mothballed or similarly unavailable to generate this winter but could return if market conditions improve. These power stations had a total generating capacity of around 1.1GW.
	There are power stations which are fully mothballed and not power plants where some proportion of the plant may be mothballed.
	In addition, there may be other power stations which are closed but could return to operation if market conditions improved sufficiently.

EU: Food

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to speed up the application process under the European Union Protected Food Name Scheme.

Lord De Mauley: In 2012, some of the delivery elements of processing Protected Food Names (PFN) applications were brought back into Defra to make the end to end process more efficient.
	In addition, new EU Regulations came into force in 2013 which introduced a streamlined EU consultation process. To mirror this, Defra reviewed the UK’s PFN application process and introduced an option to reduce the standard 12 week consultation period to as short as four weeks, providing Defra does not receive notice of intention to object within this shorter period. However, if a notice of intention to object is received then a further eight weeks is permitted in order for complete details of the objection to be submitted.

EU: Overseas Aid

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 18 December 2013 (WA 207), whether they will provide a breakdown of the European-supported development and humanitarian projects in the Occupied Palestinian Territories on which the $66 million has been spent; and what proportion of that sum has been allocated to (1) schools, (2) housing, and (3) other facilities.

Baroness Northover: DfID does not hold this information; it is available from the European Commission.

Flooding

Lord Hunt of Chesterton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in preparing for the effects of flooding in the United Kingdom, they are now planning for more frequent and more intense flooding events; and what additional funding, manpower and regulatory powers have been provided to local authorities and government agencies to ensure viable flood protection systems in future.

Lord De Mauley: Flood management is a priority for this Government, and extensive planning has been undertaken to refine the preparedness of both Government and frontline responders for a variety of flood events.
	Over the four years of the current Spending Review, more is being spent on flood risk management than ever before. Defra is on course to invest £2.3 billion funding on flood and coastal erosion risk management in this spending period. That is about the same as the total for the previous four years. However, overall investment is increasing because our change to partnership funding is set to bring in up to £148 million additional investment by 2015, compared to £13 million in the previous four years.
	Regulatory powers have been revised through the implementation of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. The majority of measures are now in force, and plans for implementing the remaining measures by December 2014 are on track, subject to cross-Government and Parliamentary approval.

Government Departments: Management Information Reports

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 17 December 2013 relating to the Department for Education (WA 180), whether any performance data are collated on a daily or weekly basis for Ministers or the Permanent Secretary; and, if so, what.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 17 December 2013 relating to the Department for Education (WA 180), what key performance indicators are used to review progress against the overall performance targets and objectives of the Department.

Lord Nash: The vast majority of the Department for Education’s performance data are annual, quarterly or monthly. This information is regularly reported through the reports outlined in the reply given to the noble Lord on 17 December, Official Report, [WA180].
	The Department for Education’s performance indicators are set out in the departmental business plan: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/business-plan-2012-to-2015-department-for-education.
	Information on each of the Department’s indicators can also be found at: http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/keystatistics.

Housing: Enterprise Zones

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to support the Mayor of London’s proposal to create housing enterprise zones in London; and what is their assessment of the impact of such zones on unmet demand for social housing and affordable homes.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: The Mayor published his draft Housing Strategy on 25 November 2013. The consultation ends on 17 February 2014. The Mayor of London has oversight of strategic housing, regeneration and economic development in London. The Government is pleased that the Mayor has an ambitious plan to increase housing in London as set out in his draft Housing Strategy. No plans or an assessment of the housing enterprise zones proposal have been made as yet, as the draft strategy is still out for consultation.

Immigration

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many applications for indefinite leave to remain are in the Settlement Other (SET O) work stream; and what was the longest time taken for cases decided in 2013, from the date of application to the date of decision.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Home Office does not currently publish data on the number of applications made using form SET (O). However, National Statistics publish detailed information about grants and refusals of settlement applications. This data can be found on the gov.uk website here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/259958/settlement-q3-2013-tabs.ods. This data goes up to the end of 03/2013 and later data is due to be published at the end of February 2014.
	The Home Office does not publish data for the longest time taken to process cases. However the average processing time for SET (O) applications for the period 1 January 2013-30 September 2013 from the date of application to the date of decision was 214 days.

Isles of Scilly

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Attlee on 29 November 2013 (WA 78), whether they have received an application from the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company for Skybus to carry bio-hazardous goods such as specimens for testing; and, if so, when a licence was granted by the Civil Aviation Authority for such a service.

Baroness Kramer: An application for a Dangerous Goods Approval was received by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on the 20 December 2012. The CAA is assessing the application in consultation with the operator. Once the operator has demonstrated compliance with the relevant requirements the CAA will grant the approval.

Israel and Palestine: West Bank

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent discussions they have had with the government of Israel concerning civilian and particularly child fatalities in the West Bank and Gaza in 2013.

Baroness Warsi: We regularly raise our concerns with the Israeli authorities about their use of live fire which has led to the deaths of Palestinian civilians including children.
	Recent contact includes written correspondence between the British Ambassador in Tel Aviv and the Israeli Ministry of Defence, and discussions between our Embassy officials and the Israeli National Security Council and the Israeli Office for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) on 16 January.

Legislation

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is expected that departments, non-departmental public bodies and executive agencies issue a publicly available response to a Technical Review of draft secondary legislation before further implementation of the measures proposed; and, if so, what guidance they issue to them as to the contents.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Different types of secondary legislation are subject to different types of consultation and review. The Government’s consultation principles, which are in the public domain, note that a
	case-by-case approach on the timing, length and format of consultations should be adopted for each consultation and emphasise that the focus should be on early and real engagement with key stakeholders, rather than following a set process.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

Lord McColl of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the cost of running the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in (1) 2011–12, and (2) 2012–13; and how many people are employed by that organisation.

Earl Howe: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence's (NICE) comprehensive expenditure in 2011/12 and 2012/13, taken from its published annual accounts, was:
	2011-12 - £59,176,000
	2012-13 - £64,955,000.
	The 2012-13 figure includes £6,628,000 attributable to the National Clinical Assessment Service, which NICE hosted for one year before its transfer on 1 April 2013 to the NHS Litigation Authority.
	I understand from NICE that, as at 17 January 2014, it employs 563 people.

Pets: Primates

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, as recommended by the British Veterinary Association, they will take steps to introduce a ban on the keeping of primates as private pets.

Lord De Mauley: We have no plans to introduce a ban on keeping primates as pets. However, primates are wild animals and have very specific needs because they are socially-complex and long-living animals. Anyone keeping a primate must, by law, provide for the welfare needs of their animal. It is an offence, under The Animal Welfare Act 2006, not to do so. In 2010, Defra introduced the Code of Practice for the Welfare of Privately Kept Non-human Primates. Whilst it is not a specific offence to breach the Code, if proceedings are brought under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, the Court can take into account the extent to which someone has complied, or failed to comply, with the Code in deciding whether they have committed an offence.
	Anyone keeping a primate as a pet in solitary conditions is likely to be failing to provide properly for its welfare and will therefore be committing an offence.
	Some primates are also subject to The Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 under which licences are needed to keep certain specified species of animals.

Police: Black and Ethnic Minority Officers

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many police officers were employed in England, Scotland and Wales at 31 December 2013; and how many of those are of (1) Asian, (2) African, and (3) Caribbean origin.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total number of members of the Association of Chief Police Officers in the police service in England, Scotland and Wales at 31 December 2013; and what were their ethnic origins.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total number of chief superintendents and superintendents in the police service in England, Scotland and Wales at 31 December 2013; and what were their ethnic origins.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many black and minority ethnic chief inspectors there were in post in the police service in England, Scotland and Wales at 31 December 2013; and which forces they were attached to.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many black and minority ethnic police officers were in commander posts at 31 December 2013 within Basic Command Units; and to which forces they were attached.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many black and minority ethnic police officers above and including the rank of chief inspector were in Partnership and Community Relations roles in England, Scotland and Wales as at 31 December 2013.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The available data is provided within the attached tables. These are the most recent published figures and relate to 31 March 2013.
	Figures for Scotland are a matter for the Devolved Administration.
	For HL4620, breakdown of ethnicity into African and Caribbean origins are not available. Figures for “Black and Black British” are provided instead.
	Figures for police officers in post on 31 March 2013 are published in the “Police Workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2013” statistical bulletin, which can be accessed using the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-workforce-england-and-wales-31-march-2013.
	
		
			 Total number of police officers (FTE)1 in England and Wales, as at 31 March 2013 
			  Number of Police Officers 
			 England 122,751 
			 Wales 6,833 
		
	
	1
	. This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been presented to the nearest whole number.
	
		
			 Number of black and minority ethnic police officers (FTE)1 in England and Wales broken down by ethnicity, as at 31 March 2013 
			  England Wales 
			 Asian or Asian British 2,540 23 
			 Black or Black British 1,350 11 
			 Chinese or Other Ethnic Group 735 13 
			 Mixed 1,811 54 
			 Total 6,436 101 
		
	
	1
	This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been presented to the nearest whole number.
	
		
			 Number of members of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), chief superintendents and superintendents (FTE) 1 in England, as at 31 March 2013 
			  ACPO Chief Superintendent Superintendent 
			 Asian or Asian British 4 5 16 
			 Black or Black British 2 1 6 
			 Chinese or Other Ethnic Group 0 0 1 
			 Mixed 0 4 10 
			 Not stated 15 3 10 
			 White 166 332 727 
			 Total 187 345 770 
		
	
	1
	. This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been presented to the nearest whole number.
	
		
			 Number of members of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), chief superintendents and superintendents (FTE)1 in Wales, as at 31 March 2013 
			  ACPO Chief Superintendent Superintendent 
			 Asian or Asian British 0 0 0 
			 Black or Black British 0 0 0 
			 Chinese or Other Ethnic Group 0 0 0 
			 Mixed 0 0 0 
			 Not stated 1 0 0 
			 White 13 21 49 
			 Total 14 21 49 
		
	
	1
	This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been presented to the nearest whole number.
	
		
			 Number of black and minority ethnic chief inspectors (FTE)1 in England and Wales, by police force area, as at 31 March 2013 
			  Black and Minority Ethnic 
			 Avon & Somerset 1 
			 Bedfordshire 1 
		
	
	
		
			 Cambridgeshire 2 
			 Cheshire 0 
			 Cleveland 2 
			 Cumbria 1 
			 Derbyshire 0 
			 Devon & Cornwall 0 
			 Dorset 1 
			 Durham 0 
			 Essex 0 
			 Gloucestershire 0 
			 Greater Manchester 6 
			 Hampshire 2 
			 Hertfordshire 1 
			 Humberside 1 
			 Kent 1 
			 Lancashire 3 
			 Leicestershire 0 
			 Lincolnshire 0 
			 London, City of 3 
			 Merseyside 2 
			 Metropolitan Police 22 
			 Norfolk 1 
			 Northamptonshire 1 
			 Northumbria 1 
			 North Yorkshire 3 
			 Nottinghamshire 0 
			 South Yorkshire 1 
			 Staffordshire 1 
			 Suffolk 0 
			 Surrey 1 
			 Sussex 0 
			 Thames Valley 3 
			 Warwickshire 0 
			 West Mercia 1 
			 West Midlands 8 
			 West Yorkshire 1 
			 Wiltshire 0 
			 Total England 71 
			 Dyfed-Powys 0 
			 Gwent 0 
			 North Wales 0 
			 South Wales 1 
			 Total Wales 1 
		
	
	1
	. This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been presented to the nearest whole number. Because of this, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items.
	
		
			 Number of black and minority ethnic police officers in the local commanders function1, 2 (FTE)3 in England and Wales, by police force area, as at 31 March 2013 
			  Black and Minority Ethnic 
			 Avon & Somerset 0 
			 Bedfordshire 0 
			 Cambridgeshire 0 
			 Cheshire 0 
			 Cleveland 0 
			 Cumbria 0 
			 Derbyshire 2 
			 Devon & Cornwall 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Dorset 0 
			 Durham 0 
			 Essex 0 
			 Gloucestershire 1 
			 Greater Manchester 7 
			 Hampshire 2 
			 Hertfordshire 1 
			 Humberside 0 
			 Kent 0 
			 Lancashire 0 
			 Leicestershire 0 
			 Lincolnshire 0 
			 London, City of 0 
			 Merseyside 2 
			 Metropolitan Police 3 
			 Norfolk 0 
			 Northamptonshire 0 
			 Northumbria 0 
			 North Yorkshire 2 
			 Nottinghamshire 1 
			 South Yorkshire 0 
			 Staffordshire 0 
			 Suffolk 0 
			 Surrey 0 
			 Sussex 0 
			 Thames Valley 5 
			 Warwickshire 0 
			 West Mercia 0 
			 West Midlands 2 
			 West Yorkshire 2 
			 Wiltshire 0 
			 Total England 30 
			 Dyfed-Powys 0 
			 Gwent 0 
			 North Wales 0 
			 South Wales 0 
			 Total Wales 0 
		
	
	1
	. Staff with multiple responsibilities (or designations) are recorded under their primary role or function.
	2
	. Operational local commanders and their deputies (Basic Command Units or equivalents).
	3
	. This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been presented to the nearest whole number. Because of this, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items.
	
		
			 Number of black and minority ethnic police officers (ACP°, Chief Superintendent, Superintendent, Chief Inspector) in the community safety/relations function1, 2 (FTE)3, in England and Wales, as at 31 March 2013 
			  Black and Minority Ethnic 
			 England 3 
			 Wales 0 
		
	
	1
	. Staff with multiple responsibilities (or designations) are recorded under their primary role or function.
	2
	. Police officers who predominantly undertake community safety work, including community relations, schools liaison, crime reduction, youth offender teams, closed circuit television, Crime Prevention/Crime Reduction and Architectural Liaison Officers, dealing with repeat victimisation or visual aids unit.
	Include analysts and administrative assistants and those officers/staff in supporting roles. Neighbourhood policing teams are not recorded within this function.
	3
	. This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been presented to the nearest whole number.

Police: Firearms

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they support the stated intention of the coroner in the Mark Duggan inquest to invite the Duggan family to help shape police firearm procedures.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Government respects the independent role of the coroner and his invitation to all interested persons, including the Duggan family and the police, to submit suggestions for his consideration.

Roads: New Schemes

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the draft National Policy Statement for National Networks removes the requirement for planning inspectors to take into account greenhouse gas emissions from extra traffic when assessing applications for new roads.

Baroness Kramer: The draft National Networks National Policy Statement would remove this requirement for nationally significant road schemes. It is not necessary for individual planning inquiries to consider changes in carbon emissions as a result of additional traffic, as the Government’s Carbon Plan is clear that any increase in carbon emissions from one sector of the economy will need to be offset elsewhere. Carbon impacts will still continue to form a key part of the transport appraisal and decision making process for road schemes.
	The sustainability appraisal that accompanies the National Networks National Policy Statement shows that the overall impact of the policy will reduce carbon emissions. This is because of the Government’s wider policies to support the environment, including the transition to ultra-low emission vehicles.

Shipping: Pollution

Lord Hunt of Chesterton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made on controlling emissions of sulphur, soot particles and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere from ships’ engines in different regions of the world.

Baroness Kramer: Ships’ emissions of sulphur and nitrogen oxides are regulated by Annex VI to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships 1973/78 (commonly known as MARPOL). The current, revised version of MARPOL Annex VI was adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in October 2008 and entered into force internationally on 1 July 2010.
	IMO is actively working on the issue of Black Carbon emissions from shipping with further consideration of the issue at its Pollution Prevention and Response Sub-committee (PPR) in February 2014. At PPR, IMO parties will review the appropriate approach to measuring emissions from vessel engines and begin consideration of management and reduction strategies.

South Sudan

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment, in the context of the current crisis in South Sudan, of the decision that was taken to end the mandate of the European Union Special Representative for the two Sudans.

Baroness Warsi: One of the key objectives in combining the mandate of the EU Special Representative (EUSR) for Sudan and South Sudan with that of the EUSR for the Horn of Africa was to better enable strategic linkages across the region. We believe this ability has proved important in the EU response to the current crisis, particularly given the central role played by regional leaders in attempting to mediate a resolution.
	The current EUSR for the Horn of Africa, Alex Rondos, has been actively involved in supporting the peace negotiations led by the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) in Addis Ababa. His extensive regional knowledge and relationships with IGAD leaders have enabled him to play an influential role in the regional response to the crisis. He is working closely with the Troika (UK, US and Norway) envoys, as well as other regional partners to help bring about a cessation of hostilities and political resolution.

St Helena: Airport

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment has been made of the impact on the population level of St Helena of the opening of the airport there.

Baroness Northover: Statistics provided by the St Helena Government show that since the start of the airport construction population levels have steadily
	increased. The latest data showed a resident population in St Helena of 4,158 in September 2013. It is expected that population numbers in St Helena will increase in line with economic growth following the opening of the airport in 2016.

St Helena: Airport

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the forecast number of passengers expected to use the new airport at St Helena during its first five years; and what proportion of that number are expected to be tourists.

Baroness Northover: The passenger numbers for St Helena’s Airport over its first five years are forecast to be:
	
		
			 Business Visitors 3,800 
			 Leisure Visitors 10,200 
			 Total 14,000

Syria

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what reasons they have for not admitting to the United Kingdom refugees and displaced people from Syria who (1) have family members already lawfully resident here, (2) are orphans without near relatives, or (3) are urgent medical cases.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Government believes that the priority in response to the Syria crisis is to provide humanitarian assistance to displaced people in the region, in partnership with non-governmental organisations and neighbouring countries. The UK has recently increased its pledge to the Syrian relief effort to more than £500 million: our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis.
	Syrian nationals seeking to enter the UK as the partner, child or adult dependent relative of a British citizen or a person settled in the UK can apply under the family Immigration Rules to join their family in the UK. In addition, any Syrian national granted refugee leave or humanitarian protection in the UK can be joined by an existing partner or dependent child under the provisions for pre-flight family members contained in Part 11 of the Immigration Rules.
	The humanitarian aid we have provided includes funding for the World Health Organisation (WHO) to provide vulnerable Syrians with essential access to comprehensive health services. WHO are also supporting trauma systems, delivering essential supplies and augmenting health systems to respond to outbreaks of diseases. Across Syria the UK has already funded over 244,000 medical consultations to critically injured and sick people. In the regions neighbouring Syria, this funding has enabled the WHO to carry out 71,500 medical consultations.

Syria

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consult the Refugee Council in order to construct a managed programme for the resettlement of some of the most urgent refugee cases from Syria.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Government shares the deep concerns regarding the continuing humanitarian crisis in Syria. However, the Government has no current plans to run a programme of resettlement for Syrian refugees. We continue to believe that the priority should be to provide humanitarian assistance to displaced people in partnership with neighbouring countries and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. The UK has now increased its pledge for the Syrian relief effort to £500 million. This represents the UK’s largest ever response to a humanitarian crisis.

Syria: Chemical Weapons

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Statement by Lord Astor of Hever on 13 January (WS 1) concerning financial assistance for the elimination of Syria's chemical and nerve weapons, whether they have received assurances from the officially recognised Syrian opposition and all other rebel groups that they would not seek to re-build stocks of such weapons if they gained power.

Baroness Warsi: Syria’s accession to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) requires that they must declare to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and then destroy any stocks of chemicals as well as all production and mixing facilities and any associated storage locations that are linked with their weapons programme. Destruction is carried out under the supervision of OPCW inspectors. Syria’s accession means that no future Government of Syria can legally rebuild or develop chemical weapons stocks. Prior to Syria taking the decision to accede to the Convention, representations were made to both the National Coalition and Syrian Military Council stressing the importance of the universality of the CWC. The Syrian Coalition, and the General Staff of the Free Syrian Army, has made clear their commitment, for example in a media statement on 16 October 2013, to fully cooperate with the OPCW, as they carry out their duties to dismantle and destroy the Assad regime’s chemical stockpile.

Taxation

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of those lifted out of tax by increases in personal tax allowances since May 2010 have children.

Lord Deighton: It is estimated that the changes to the personal allowance between 2010-11 and 2014-15 will lift 2.7m individuals out of income tax. Of these 2.7m individuals, approximately 35% will have children aged under 16.
	Families with children benefit not only through the increase to the income tax personal allowance, but through extending free school meals to all children aged between 5 and 7, and providing 70 per cent of childcare costs for low income families through Working Tax Credit and from 201 5 will benefit from the introduction of Tax Free Childcare .

Taxation

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of adults of working age whose incomes are below the tax threshold (1) have children, and (2) are women; and whether they will provide the same figures sub-divided between adults in employment and not in paid employment.

Lord Deighton: Of those individuals with incomes below the income tax personal allowance, who are in employment, 70 per cent are women, and 50 per cent have children. Of those individuals with incomes below the income tax personal allowance who are not in employment, 60 per cent are women, and 35 per cent have children. In aggregate, 60 per cent of the individuals with incomes below the personal allowance are women, and 40 per cent have children.
	These figures relate to 2014-15. Children are defined as under 16; paid employment includes any reported earnings from employment or self- employment; and figures are rounded to the nearest 5 percentage points. Those who are out of employment include the unemployed, economically inactive, students, carers, and people of working age who have taken early retirement.

Terrorism

Lord Ahmed: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of mosques and Islamic centres in the United Kingdom which may have actively encouraged or recruited British Muslims to participate in the conflict in Syria.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The UK Government continually assess institutions and organisations of concern in relation to radicalisation and terrorist recruitment. Due to reasons of national security, we cannot publicly disclose any details of this analysis.
	The Home Office’s Prevent strategy aims to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. This involves work to challenge extremist ideology and to help protect institutions from extremists. It also includes work to identify and support individuals at risk of radicalisation.
	As part of Prevent, we recognise the important role of faith institutions and organisations in leading the challenge to an ideology that purports to provide theological justification for terrorism. Our
	aim is to support faith communities in working with people at risk of radicalisation and challenging ideas developed in the name of religion by apologists for violence.